Irfan Pathan picks India’s strongest playing XI for Asia Cup 2025; Sanju Samson demoted

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has picked his strongest Team India playing XI for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 competition, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, September 9, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Speaking exclusively on his YouTube channel, Pathan has slotted  Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma as the opening batters, while Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav will occupy the third and fourth batting slots in the order.

During his discussion, Pathan heaped praise on the new vice-captain of the Indian T20I team, Shubman Gill, adding that he would be the perfect candidate to replace Virat Kohli in the shortest format of the game. 

"Shubman Gill can do the work the great Virat Kohli has done for many years. Virat Kohli has played cricket in his own style. He tried to play long innings and found his own way in T20 cricket. If you compare six-hitters, he is not Chris Gayle; he is Virat Kohli, but if you look at value, he had a lot of value in T20s. I see Shubman Gill as a player of the mold," Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Subsequently, Pathan also picked Hardik, Axar, and one between Shivam Dube and Kuldeep Yadav. Also, he has slotted Bumrah, Arshdeep, and Varun Chakravathy in his playing XI.

Team India will begin their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, September 10. Later, they will take against the arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, September 14. Their last group stage will be against Oman on Friday, September 19.

Irfan Pathan’s strongest playing XI for Asia Cup 2025: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube/Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.

India’s squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Sing.

Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel.

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